All Quiet at the Malaysian Chess scene

(The man that made the Malaysian Chess Festival possible, past CAS President (1975) Dato' Tan Chin Nam seated at the centre, together with incumbent president En Shafruddin (seated right) and his grandson (left) a UK university economics undergraduate back for a short break at the GM Yasser Seirawan Simul recently)

It is all quiet for now in this holy month of Ramadhan and we wish the Muslims "Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan Al Mubarak". To the SelangorChess teams we once again wish you well done for the fine performance in the recent Malaysian Chess Festival 2008 and look forward to the continued excellence in chess in the coming years.

CAS hopes to hold at least two more events for the remaining part of this year, namely the Royal Selangor Junior Open some time in November and the final CAS-Octagon 4th Quarter Allegro in December. We will keep you posted on these events in due course.

(SelangorChess senior team was featured in Mr Quah Seng Sun's the Star column today. The team did well to fight to the finish to emerge as one of the well respected teams in recent years. In the article was a short note on the exploit of our Main Committee Member cum Hon Treasurer En Fariz Shafruddin's impressive end-game win in a simul with GM Seirawan. Congratulations!)

(It is in everyone's mind whether or not the Malaysian Chess Festival will live on. The present MCF Council Members will definitely put on their thinking cap to keep the fire on, with clear objectives and mission to further uplift Malaysian chess to the next higher level)

Malaysian Chess Festival - 28th Astro Merdeka Open Team Chess Championship 2008 - A sweet triumph for SelangorChess Teams

SelangorChess assembled a contingent of 15 players to make up the three teams. It was an astounding success recorded in recent years, capturing both Best State Medals that are on offer. In addition the two Juniors took the overall 1 st and 4 th positions while the Senior was the top Malaysian team, taking overall Second place with the Silver Medal and RM2,000 prize money. The success can only be attributed to the strong determination and team spirit of the players. Grossly missing in the picture however is CAS Hon Secretary IA Lim Tse Pin

The Open Category

(Two medals for Selangor senior team - Selangor emerged with equal points with the tournament Champion but settled with a Silver Medal in a tie-break, and won the Best State Medal as de-facto top State team in the country)


Day 2 started off with Selangor in the lead but the other teams are never far behind. Round 5 was against top ranked and star-studded ASTRO Malaysia but Selangor brushed aside the big name with a 3 - 1 win. In Round 6 was another strong 2 1/2 - 1 1/2 win against giant-killer Vandetta.




The final Round 7 was a nail-biting battle with the only foreign team Apocalypse-Manila who was by then narrowing the gap by only a point behind. Ian Udani had an early draw with IM Ronald Bancod, while Abdullah Che Hassan later lost his game. (Ian Udani who plays on Board 1 conceded only one other draw was later adjudged as joint top board winner with FM Nicholas Chan)

Fariz Shafruddin's deep attack on the opponent's king on the right flank on Board 4 forced the Filipino Albert Rivera to resign. So Selangor was 1 1/2 points up



The last battle on Board 3 saw NM Zarul Shazwan battling it out for at least a draw, but it was not to be. Both teams shared equal points of 20 1/2 and the decider tie-break favoured the Filipinos.



The Junior Category

(Selangor Generasi 8 in top position took the Challenge Trophy pictured with CAS President Shafruddin(far left), MCF President Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib (centre) and MCF Deputy President Hj Ibrahim Bakar (far right)). In addition to the Champion Gold Medal they were also awarded the Best State Medals)


In the Junior (Under - 16) Category, Selangor Generasi 8 nominated to represent the Selangor State had an insurmountable lead as the team was virtually unbeaten throughout the Tournament, amassing 24 1/2 points out of a maximum 28





In the last round the Team was so far ahead that no other team can actually surpass Selangor. But they sportingly played on collecting a further 3 points out of the maximum 4 from Perak Juniors, thereby helping Selangor Generasi 9 to a better overall position along the way


(Selangor Generasi 9 won 4th Placing pictured here with CAS President Shafruddin and MCF Deputy President Hj Ibrahim Bakar)

The younger Selangor Generasi 9 team was not to be out done either. They beat Chung Ling B of Penang 3 -1 in the final round and collected a total of 17 points to pip State teams Sarawak and Perak by a mere 1/2 point to the finishing line.



The Juniors also collected 3 out of 5 Board Prizes through:

Yeoh Li Tian on Board 2








Muhd Izz Saifuddin on Board 4







.... and Muhd Shakir Shazmeer Azhar on Board 5









Syabas Selangor!!

Malaysian Chess Festival - 28th Astro Merdeka Standard Team Chess Championship 2008 - SelangorChess Teams on Day 1

Selangor is in top position amongst the State teams. Pictured on the right is the encounter with Sarawak State team whom they beat 3 1/2 - 1/2 in Round 4.They are also in favourable overall position in 3rd place after 4 rounds

The State team members are WCM Nur Shazwani Zullkafli, Zarul Shazwan Zullkafli, Ian Udani and Fariz Shafruddin. Another member of the team is Abdullah Che Hassan, seen at the playing table (top photo) next to Fariz Shafruddin




On the Selangor junior teams they met midway through the tournament with Selangor Generasi 8 at the top table and the Selangor Generasi 9 close by in 4th position. Both the yellowshirts are doing well and should finish in the top rungs should they continue at the current pace.

Selangor Generasi 8 team members are Muhd Shakir Shazmeer Azhar, Low Jun Jian, Muhd Nabil Azman Hisham, Muhd Izz Saifuddin and Justin Ong Way

Members in Selangor Generasi 9 are Nur Nabila Azman Hisham, Yeoh Li Tian, Low Jun Keat, Muhd Irfan Haqqim Azhar and Amira Shahmina Zullkafli

Malaysian Chess Festival - SelangorChess players in action

The Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) Main Committee is pleased to announce that Majlis Sukan Negeri Selangor (Selangor State Sports Council) has endorsed and indicated to sponsor the SelangorChess Team participation in the 28th Astro Merdeka Open Team Chess Championship this weekend











It is great to see the SelangorChess selection (pic above) already showing their team spirit playing together at their own initiative in the recent Astro Merdeka Rapid.

In the meantime the individual participations in two other events DATMO and AmBank Chess Challenge have already demonstrated their excellence. Four players were medal winners in a field of national and international players.

Abdullah Che Hassan in 10th place Ambank Chess Challenge











Yeoh Li Tian in 13th place AmBank Chess Challenge











Justin Ong as Best U-16 Datmo

Nabila as Best U-16 AmBank Chess Challenge











Other members putting up strong challenges in the earlier events included Ian Udani (a Filipino and presently a Selangor resident) whose team Gold IS Berhad came Second but shared the same 29 1/2 points with the eventual Champion from the Philippines. WCM Shazwani on Board 1 anchored her team under Astro banner as Best Ladies Team

Ian








Yeoh Li Tian in yellow and to his left Jun Keat in green striped shirt



WCM Shazwani Zulkaffli playing under Astro









For more details on the performances refer to http://malaysianchessfederation.blogspot.com and http://datmo.net

Malaysian Chess Festival - SelangorChess Team

The Chess Association of Selangor proposes to send only three teams to represent Selangor this year. This is not due to lack of talents in the State, on the contrary Selangor probably has the largest number of strong players in the country, but Selangor's past large contingent and competitive stance could have intimidated our counterparts. Additionally CAS also attracted many players especially Juniors from other states who would otherwise not have a decent team or worse still not have a team at all. CAS has always provided opportunity to fully harness and recognise these players as they are indeed the products of CAS efforts but rules have changed and we shall dance to the tune.

This year's Senior Team will include our CAS Committee Member Fariz Shafruddin. He is a regular member of the Selangor Team, a graduate of CAS's CTEP starting off as a Junior player and has in recent years been representing the State Senior team. He will not however sit on the top boards, thus signifying a strategically strong team to be assembled this year.

Li Tian will be one of the team members spearheading the Selangor State Junior. He may well be considered 'underaged' given the Under-16 threshold for the Junior category, but he has definitely showed his prowess in the local chess scene.





This year will also see the brother and sister - Nabil and Nabila, in action in the Selangor Junior Team. Both will dig upon their experience in the full tradition of a winning team that is Selangor.













These are just a sampling of what the Selangor Team will comprise of. They will be joined by equally talented individuals with the added strong temperament as team players, whom we shall not reveal at this point in time. Through CAS's past experiences the winning edge lies not just on the individuals but the qualitative team efforts and spirit as key to success of the Selangor team.
It is an honour to represent the State and especially so to to be selected in the Winning Team, under the stewardship of CAS.

The road to Malaysian Chess Festival 2008 - SelangorChess Team

The SelangorChess teams have always strike fear amongst the local chess players. But it is more than just about winning but the strong bond and team cohesiveness that has brought out the best in each individual.

It is vital that each player think not for himself alone to achieve team success

Assembling the best but without calculated strategies may not yield the best possible results.

Proud to don the winning SelangorChess colours



Rummaging through our printed newsletter way back in 2002 SelangorChess teams had always been in the forefront as medal winners. Can we continue with this fine run this year?

10th CAS-Octagon Third Quarter Allegro Chess Championship 2008 - The Results

The 10th CAS-Octagon Third Quarter Allegro 2008 is a success with satisfactory turnout of 121 players. This Allegro series continue to attract strong chess players not just in the Klang Valley but from neighbouring states of Perak, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan as well. En Mazlan Ali, CEO of Octagon Consolidated Berhad (seated) who sponsored this event was present for the Closing Ceremony to give away the prizes. It was an eye-opener for him to see such strong interest in chess in the country with wide and harmonious participations from all walks of life irrespective of age, gender or race.

Main Prize Winners

Ian Udani receiving his First Prize from En Mazlan Ali. Ian earlier won the top prize in the First Quarter but dropped to 5th place in the subsequent Second Quarter Allegro series.

2nd placing - Edward Lee Kim Han


















3rd - Mohd Kamal Abdullah


















4th - Sumant Subramaniam

5th - Mark Siew Kit-Tze


















6th - Fariz Shafruddin


















7th - Mohd Saprin Sabri


















8th -Kamaluddin Yusof


















9th - Ismail Ahmad


















A qualified Veteran, Woo Beng Keong squeezed his way in 10th Place through a tie-break with 15 other players.

Category Winners

A broad smile from Veteran winner En Mat Zaki Yeop upon receiving his book prize. For the record, he is one of the newly elected Committee Member of CAS.

At the playing hall of The Chess Network
Complete list of participants and winners .....

.....and the cross-table